This invention relates in general to the field of intravascular brachytherapy, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing intravascular bracytherapy treatment planning.
Research has found that up to 45% of the angioplasty procedures performed require an additional intravascular intervention procedure be performed after several months due to restenosis. These additional interventions do not only increase the cost of health care, but also have serious effects on the health and well being of patients having to undergo these additional medical procedures.
Many recent medical studies have demonstrated that intravascular radiation treatment, also known as intravascular brachytherapy, may inhibit restenosis in vessels that have undergone angioplasty or other coronary revascularization procedures (e.g., atherectomy, ablations, etc.). This is a welcome sign for patients who have undergone angioplasty or other revascularization procedures, given that brachytherapy may avoid patients from having to undergo subsequent procedures.
One problem that currently occurs during intravascular brachytherapy procedures is that physicians have to spend a large amount of time prior to, and/or during a procedure in treatment planning in order to determine how much radiation dosage to apply and where to apply the dosage within the treatment site. Since undertreating with radiation can result in not inhibiting the neointima and, in some cases, can actually result in stimulating smooth muscle cell proliferation and extra-cellular matrix production. While overtreating with radiation can induce necrosis or aneurysm. Given this, physicians are very cautious and take time in developing a proper radiation treatment plan for patients.
Current brachytherapy systems, even those that employ IVUS guidance tend not to provide physicians with the needed features and information needed to form a proper treatment plan, much less one that takes a minimal amount of time. A need thus exists in the art for a method and apparatus that can provide a solution to this problem.